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Miller: The race on to avoid Premier League relegation

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Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, right, scores from long range against West Ham United during their English Premier League soccer match at Upton Park, London, Saturday, March 22, 2014.
(Sang Tan/Associated Press)

The race for 17th place in the Premier League is heating up, if you can call it a race.

The relegation battle, or more likely the relegation scrap, heads into the home stretch, and there are still realistically nine teams that can end up in the bottom three, and suffer the drop down to the Championship.

Stoke City, sitting in 11th place with 34 points, is probably close to safety. Any team below it has to still be considered in the danger zone, and the coming week will most likely bring a few more teams closer to the 40-point mark, which has usually been the barometer to determine which squads stay in the lucrative top flight.

But will 40 be enough this year, or is that target maybe too high?

Let’s take a look at the teams that are involved, starting from the team most likely.

All relegation odds are from the odds checker site, as of Friday, March 21.

Fulham (1:3 to go down) Fulham is already on its third coach of the season, in Felix Magath. The Cottagers sit at the foot of the table, with 24 points. Manchester City destroyed them 5-0 Saturday. I would be shocked if Fulham stay in the Premier League.
Cardiff City (1:3) Lost 6-3 to Liverpool Saturday, and sits in 19th with 25 points. Have four matches left against teams on this list. It will be tough, but Cardiff has its fate in its own hands.

Sunderland (7:4) It has two matches in hand on the other teams, but it is with Liverpool and Tottenham, plus Manchester City, Manchester United, Everton, Chelsea to play as well. Could very well be sucked into the Championship.

Norwich (15:8) Huge 2-0 win Saturday against Sunderland to jump all the way up to 13th. Norwich has to be clear going into the final four matches, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal the final four weeks.

West Bromwich Albion (9:2) Lost to Hull City Saturday 2-0. West Brom now occupies 16th, just three points outside the bottom three.

Swansea City (10:1) Sitting on 29 points, Swansea has felt the affects from its Europa League campaign, just as Newcastle did last season. May just scrape enough points over the final weeks to stay up, mirroring Newcastle.

West Ham United (16:1) Another team with a brutal schedule. Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, and City. I just have a feeling the Hammers will secure just enough to stay up, but once again, it will be tight.

So, which three teams will be relegated to the Championship next season?

My gut says Fulham, Sunderland, and Crystal Palace.

• How about the goal from Wayne Rooney for Manchester United Saturday against West Ham. Sealing off the defender at midfield, Rooney looked up and saw the keeper off his line, and hit a volley into the net. David Beckham scored one just like that 18 years ago, and was in attendance to see this one as well.

Sublime, and goal of the year in the Premier League.

• The draw for the Champions League quarterfinal was Friday, and it came up with some interesting ties. This is the first time ever that all eight group winners advanced from the round-of-16.

Manchester City's Yaya Toure runs in to score his second penalty against Fulham during their English Premier League soccer match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, Saturday March 22, 2014.Jon Super/Associated Press

• Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will be an all Spanish match-up. Barcelona, who play in El Clasico later today against Real Madrid, get the home game in the first leg, so it could be advantage Atletico Madrid, who get to head home to the Vincente Calderon Stadium for the second match. This should be very close, and I lean toward the new kid on the block, Atletico.

• Real Madrid will play host to Borussia Dortmund in a rematch of the incredible semifinal from last season. Robert Lewandowski won the tie for Dortmund, scoring four goals in the home match to lead his team into the final. Dortmund are a shell of the team from last season, with injuries depleting a good side.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, are firing on all cylinders, led by Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid gets revenge for last season, and marches on to the semifinal.

• Paris Saint-Germain will host Chelsea in the first leg, in a battle of the oil-rich teams. This should be another close tie, and it could really go either way. PSG has Zlatan Imbrahimovic, and Chelsea has Eden Hazard. It also has Jose Mourinho in charge.

I am just taking a stab here, but I have a feeling PSG will go through. It is time to start getting a return on all the money spent, and this looks to be the best chance to get to the semifinal round.

• Bayern Munich is the best team on the planet, and only getting better. Manchester United got through by the skin of its teeth against a bad Olympiacos team, and now lost hat-trick hero Robin Van Persie for six weeks.

Everybody is expecting me to say this will be a close tie, and United can put the pressure on the defending champions with a win at home in the first leg. That is certainly true, but Munich is a machine, and will roll into the semifinals.

Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge celebrates scoring his side's fifth goal against Cardiff City during their English Premier League soccer match at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Saturday, March 22, 2014.David Davies/Associated Press

It all looks to be building towards a Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid final, if both win, and then are kept apart in the semifinal round, it would be a match for the ages.

If my team is not in the final, that would be the one I would like most to watch, and I am sure that sentiment is shared by many people.